Murder trial: Crouch found guilty on all counts

Lawrence Crouch, with his lawyers, is escorted out of the courtroom after being found guilty of the first degree murder of Mary McGrath at East of Sweden Saab repair in Broomfield last year. (David R. Jennings / Broomfield Enterprise)

A jury has found Lawrence Crouch guilty of first degree murder in the fatal shooting of Mary McGrath, a Broomfield auto repair shop employee killed last year.

The jury found Crouch guilty of first degree murder of McGrath and attempted murder of Amber Carr, a front desk clerk at the extended stay motel in Lakewood where he lived.

He was also found guilty of attempted arson and possession of explosives or an incendiary device.

The jury reached a verdict at 11:30 a.m. today after three hours of deliberation.

Crouch's face remained expressionless during the verdict. Family and friends of McGrath passed around tissues to wipe their eyes.

Crouch will be sentenced at 1 p.m. today in Broomfield district court.

Crouch pleaded not guilty, even though an arrest affidavit indicates he told investigators that on Oct. 12 he killed McGrath, a former roommate, for "stress relief."

In the arrest affidavit, Crouch told police he planned McGrath's shooting for at least a year before carrying out the act, but picked Oct. 12 because he was out of money and had nothing left to lose.

He told police he wanted to kill McGrath because she took advantage of Bob Wisdom, the owner of East of Sweden, where McGrath worked and the shooting happened.

Those who knew McGrath described her as kind and without a mean bone in her body.

Crouch was also found guilty in the attempted murder of Amber Carr, an employee at the extended-stay motel where he lived at 7393 Jefferson Ave. in Lakewood.

He was found guilty of plotting to throw a makeshift bomb behind the motel's front desk and burn down the motel, but backed out of the plan when Carr was not at work on Oct. 12, according to an arrest affidavit.

McGrath, Crouch and Wisdom were former roommates.

Crouch told police he planned to kill Carr, the motel employee, because her accounting practices were "horrible."

After Crouch was arrested on Oct. 12, the Adams County Bomb Squad was called to search his car for possible explosives. Witnesses said he possibly had a bomb in his car. The bomb squad detonated an unidentified object found in the car.

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